Regarding the ethnicity of Bahrainis, a Financial Times article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Discounting temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island". These may be classified as:

Non-nationals make up more than half of the population of Bahrain, with immigrants making up about 55% of the overall population.[3] Of those, the vast majority come from South and Southeast Asia: according to various media reports and government statistics dated between 2005-2009 roughly 290,000 Indians,[4] 125,000 Bangladeshis,[5] 45,000 Pakistanis,[6] 45,000 Filipinos,[7] and 8,000 Indonesians.[8]

Birth registration of Bahrain is available from 1976, death registration started in 1990. Between 1976 and 2011 the number of baby births roughly doubled but the birth rate of babies decreased from 32 to 13 per 1,000. The death rate of Bahrain (1.9 per 1,000 human beings in 2011) is among the lowest in the world.

Islam is the official religion forming 70.2% of the population.[1] Current census data does not differentiate between the other religions in Bahrain, but there are about 1,000[18]Christian citizens and about 40[19]Jewish citizens.

Bahrain has traditionally boasted an advanced educational system. Schooling and related costs are entirely paid for by the government, and, although not compulsory, primary and secondary attendance rates are high. Bahrain also encourages institutions of higher learning, drawing on expatriate talent and the increasing pool of Bahrainis returning from abroad with advanced degrees. University of Bahrain was established in 1986 for standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the College of Health Sciences—operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health—trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics.

Overall literacy is 95.7% (96.9% for men and 93.5% for women) (2015 estimate).